Chip's Challenge

Chip's Challenge
Screenshot of the Windows version
Developer(s)	Epyx
Publisher(s)	Atari (Atari Lynx) U.S. Gold (Atari ST, Amiga, ZX Spectrum) Epyx (MS-DOS) Microsoft Home (Windows)
Designer(s)	Chuck Sommerville
Platform(s)	Windows, MS-DOS, Atari Lynx, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
Release date(s)	1989 (Lynx)
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player
Distribution	3½" floppy disk, 5¼" floppy disk, cartridge, cassette tape

Chip's Challenge is a top-down tile-based puzzle video game created in 1989 by Chuck Sommerville originally for the hand-held Atari Lynx. Chip's Challenge was then later ported to multiple formats including the Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum,^[1] DOS, and Windows, included in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack and Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack (the last of which was written by Tony Krueger in 1991). Microsoft licensed Chip's Challenge from Epyx to write a DOS and Windows version of the game; while porting the game, the logic was slightly changed from the original version. The Microsoft Windows version is 16-bit so running it natively on 64-bit modern versions of Windows is not possible without using a virtual machine. It has also been converted to the TI-84+ calculator and the TI-89 Titanium.^[2]

The original game was designed and coded by Chuck Sommerville, who also made about a third of the levels.^[3] Most of the conversions from the Atari Lynx original to other formats were carried out by Images Software in the UK.

The sequel to the game, Chip's Challenge 2, is planned to be released on Steam on May 28, 2015.^[4]

Gameplay

The premise of the game is that high-school nerd Chip McCallahan has met Melinda The Mental Marvel in the school science laboratory and must navigate through Melinda's "Clubhouse" (a series of increasingly difficult puzzles) in order to prove himself and gain membership to the very exclusive Bit Buster Club.

Chip's Challenge consists of a series of 148 two-dimensional levels (149 in Microsoft's version) which feature the player character, Nerdy Chip McCallahan,^[5] often called just Chip, and various game elements such as computer chips, buttons, locked doors, water and lethal monsters. Gameplay involves using arrow keys, directional pad or mouse to move Chip about each of the levels in turn, collecting enough chips to open the chip socket at the end of each level, get to the exit, and move on to the next level.

While the same set of rules applies to each level, there are many different kinds of levels. Some are action-oriented and some are puzzle-oriented. Most levels have a time limit. Types of levels include solving a block-pushing puzzle to clear a path, dodging enemies, and moving through a maze. Levels can be skipped by entering an appropriate four-letter non-case-sensitive password. For the PC versions, game progress is automatically saved. If one is having a lot of trouble with a level, the game allows the player to skip to the next level. Progress is measured in terms of completed levels and player score, which is a sum of the scores obtained on each level. Level scores for timed levels can be improved by quickly completing the level, and scores on all levels can be improved by using fewer attempts to complete the level.

Sequels

Sommerville created a sequel, Chip's Challenge 2^[6] (CC2) which included new elements and levels in addition to the original ones.^[7][8] However, the game sat unreleased for almost two decades, as Sommerville and the legal owner had problems agreeing on the release/publishing terms.^[9] It was not before April 2015 that the release of Chip's Challenge 2 was announced, releasing on the Steam platform on the 28th of May along with a re-release of Chip's Challenge 1.^[4]

Sommerville is also involved in a new puzzle game called Chuck's Challenge.^[9] Sommerville's company Niffler developed two other follow-ups to the game: Chuck's Challenge^[10] (2012) which is available for iOS systems from the iTunes Store,^[11] and Chuck's Challenge 3D (2014) which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Steam;^[12] and for Android on Google Play.^[13][14] Chuck's Challenge 3D was a launch title for the Nvidia Shield.^[15]

Community level packs

The online Chip's Challenge community has collaborated to create level packs which contain new levels for the game through a process of submissions and voting. They can be played with the original Chip's Challenge program or with an emulator such as Tile World.

• Chip's Challenge Level Pack 1 (CCLP1) - the third level pack to be created by the community, considered a prequel to CCLP2 and CCLP3, released on March 28, 2014;^[16] voting took place at "CC Zone: The Next Level"^[17]
• Chip's Challenge Level Pack 2 (CCLP2) - the first level pack to be created by the community, released on February 9, 2002;^[18] voting took place at "The Chip's Challenge Corridor"^[19]
• Chip's Challenge Level Pack 3 (CCLP3) - the second level pack to be created by the community, released on December 24, 2010;^[20] voting took place at "pieguy"'s Chip's Challenge website^[21]

Tile World

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tile World.

Screenshot of Tile World emulating the first level

Tile World is a game engine recreation of Chip's Challenge. It was written by Brian Raiter.^[22] To avoid copyright infringement with Chip's Challenge, the game does not use the original graphics, sound, or music.^[23] Tile World has two rule sets corresponding to two different implementations of Chip's Challenge: the Microsoft Windows implementation and the Atari Lynx version.^[22]

Reception

Computer Gaming World called Chip's Challenge a casual game with "a set of addicting, puzzle solving levels ... a quick fix for testing the acceleration speed of one's brain".^[24]

References

External links

Look up Appendix:Chip's Challenge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Chip's Challenge at MobyGames
• Chip's Challenge guide at StrategyWiki
• Chip's Challenge at World of Spectrum